Shipping-crate.



R. B. KELLEY.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLIGATION FILED mm. a, 1901.

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PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907. R. B.'KELLBY.

SHIPPING CRATE. APPLICATION FILED- HA3. 8. 1907.

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WITNESSES: [NVENTOR No. 863,923. PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907.

R. B. KELLEY.'

SHIP-PING CRATE.

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INVENTOR lilifielley ROBERT BRADLEY KELLEY, OF AFTON, IOWA.

' SHIPPING-CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

Application filed March 8, 1907. Serial No. 361,326.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT BRADLEY KELLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Afton, in the county of Union and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping-Grates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in shipping crates and more particularly to that class adapted to be knocked down for convenience of reshipping, and my object is to provide means for readily disposing the parts of the crate in a folded position.

A further object is to provide means for securing the side and end walls of the crate in their assembled position.

A still further object is to provide means for securing a cover over the side and end Walls when assembled or knocked down.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the Claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application, Figure 1 is'a perspective view of my improved crate in its assembled position. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view as seen on line 3-3 Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the crate in its folded or knocked down position. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of one end of the crate, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing the manner of securing the side walls to the floor of the crate.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates the floor of my improved crate which is preferably oblong in general outline, to the upper surface of which are pivotally secured side walls 2 and end walls 3, said side and end walls being secured to the floor by means of staples 4 and 5, respectively, the upper ends of said staples being formed into loops. The staples 4 are secured to the floor 1 by disposing the free ends of the staple through openings 6 and twisting the prjoecting ends together as shown at 7 in Fig. 2, after which the twisted portion of the staples are bent inwardly along the bottom of the floor and secured thereto in any preferred manner while the upper or looped portion of the staples are fitted into channels 8 formed in the lower edge of the inner face of the side walls and said side walls are held into engagement with the staples by directing a pin 9 laterally through the channels and through the staple seated therein. A The staples 5 are of less length than the staples 4 and are secured to the floor by driving the free ends of the staple through the floor and clenching or otherwise securing the protruding ends thereof, said staples being seated in slots 10 formed in the end walls 3 and the end walls are secured to the staples by directing a pin 11 laterally through the slots 10 and through the staple 5. The end walls 3 are placed between the ends of the side walls 2 so that said end walls may be folded inwardly and disposed upon the floor 1 after which the side walls may be folded inwardly and rested upon the end walls and for this reason I have provided the elongated staples 4 and secured the side walls thereto by means of the pins 9, and it will be seen that after the end walls have been folded inwardly and rested upon the floor 1 that the side walls may be raised vertically until they will swing inwardly and over the end walls.

When it is desired to divide the space between the end and side walls into compartments I provide a partition 12 which is also pivotally secured to the floor 1 by means of staples 13, said staples being entered in slots 14 in the lower edge of the partition and are held therein by means of pivot pins 15. Adapted-t0 be disposed over the side and end walls is a cover 16, each end of which is provided with a depending flange 17, said flanges extending over and engaging the ends of the side walls 2 when the crate is in its assembled position and in order to secure the cover in position over the side and end walls I provide depending latches 18 which are secured to the flanges 17 and are adapted to engage keepers 19 carried by the end walls 3 while the end walls are also provided with auxiliary latches 20 which are adapted to engage auxiliary keepers 21 on the floor 1 so that when the end walls are in a vertical position, the auxiliary latches 20 will be engaged with the auxiliary keepers 21 thereby holding the end walls rigidly in a vertical position and likewise when the latches 18 are in to engagement with the keepers 19,-the cover will be rigidly held in position over the end and side walls. The latches 18 and 20 are preferably formed of continuous sections of material and doubled upon themselves and in order to impart resiliency to the latches, I dispose between the folded sections, a spring strip 22 thereby firmly holding the latches into engagement with their respective keepers.

In order to fix the side and end walls together when in their assembled position I provide a horizontally disposed groove 23 in each of the end walls adjacent the upper ends thereof in which is seated a rod 24, each end of which is provided with an angular extension 25, said extensions being at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the rods and are adapted to engage eyes 26 carried by the side walls 2 and in order to dispose the eyes into the path of the angular extensions I provide a notch 27 at each edge of the end walls 3, the angular extensions 25 extending into the upper end of the notches so that by slightly raising the end walls, the eyes 26 may enter the notches 27 below the angular extensions, when, by again lowering the end Walls the extensions are directed through the eyes and the walls firmly secured together.

The rods 24 are fixed in the grooves 23 in any pre ferred manner as by disposing staples 28 through the I end walls and over the rods.

The keepers 19 are secured in position upon the end walls 3 by disposing the free ends 29 through bores in the end walls and bending the same parallel with the inner face of the end Walls so that it will be impossible to casually remove the keepers from the end Walls.

In folding the parts oi my improved crate together, the cover 16 is first removed by releasing the latches 18 irom the keepers 19 after which the partition 12 is directed either to the right or left and rested upon the floor 1. The end Walls 3 are then elevated a sufficient distance to release the angular extensions 25 from the eyes 26 after which they are directed inwardly, one of said end walls resting upon the floor 1 and the opposite wall upon the partition 12, the auxiliary latches 20 having first been released from the auxiliary keepers 21. The side walls 2 are then elevated to their fullest extent, the one having the shortest staple 4 being directed inwardly onto the end walls 3 and the opposite side wall then directed thereover. After the parts are thus folded together, the cover 16 is placed over the folded parts and the latches 18 disposed into engagement with the auxiliary keepers 21 thereby locking the end and side walls in their folded position.

It will now be seen that l have provided a very cheap and durable form of crate and one that can be readily folded together and into a compact form for reshipping and also one that can be quickly assembled and the parts thereof secured in position to receive articles to be shipped.

What I claim is:.

1. In a crate of the class described the combination with a floor section; of side and end walls, means to movably secure said side and end walls to the floor, auxiliary latches secured to said end walls, spring strips between the sections of said latches, auxiliary keepers on the floor section adapted to receive said auxiliary latches, a cover for said walls, a flange at each end of said cover, a keeper on each flange, a spring strip between the sections of said latches, keepers on the end walls to receive said latches, and means carried by the end walls adapted to engage the side walls and lock the side and end walls together.

2. In a crate of the class described the combination with a floor section; of side and end walls having channels in their inner faces, staples having looped ends carried by the floor section and adapted to enter said channels, pins extending laterally across said channels and through the looped portion of the staples to movably secure the side and end walls to the floor, the staples for the end walls being or less length than the staples for the side walls, a bar carried by each end wall, an angular extension at each end of said bar, eyes on the side walls adapted to be engaged by said angular extension, an auxiliary latch on each of ,said end walls, an auxiliary keeper on the floor section adapted to be engaged by said latches to hold the end walls in a vertical position, a cover adapted to extend over said side and end walls, flanges at each end of said cover, keepers carried by said end walls, and latches on said flanges adapted to engage said keepers to hold the cover in position when the crate is in its assembled position and to engage the auxiliary keepers when the side and end walls are folded.

3. The herein described crate comprising a floor section, side walls having elongated channels therein, staples adapted to enter said channels and extend the full length thereof, means to secure said side walls to the staples, end walls having slots therein, said end walls being located between the side walls, staples secured to said floor and extending into said slots, said staples being of less length than the staples for the side walls, means to secure the end walls to the staples, auxiliary keepers at the ends of said floor section, auxiliary latches carried by said end walls adapted to engage said auxiliary keepers when the 'end walls are in a vertical position, spring strips between the parts of said auxiliary latches, a cover for said side and end walls, a flange at each end of said cover, depending latches on said flanges, a spring between the sections of said latches, and a keeper secured to each end wall and adapted to be engaged by said latches when the crate is in its assembled position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT BRADLEY KELLEY.

Witnesses:

L. M. WALKER, L. W. McLnNNoN. 

